Mass Effect: Invasion
by VR Commando ATA
Summary: The final chapter of my Mass Effect storyline. The Reapers have arrived. With so many changes having taken place in one Galaxy, will they be able to stop them? Or will the might of another Galaxy be all they need? The heroes of both join forces to combat what has harvested the galaxy for thousands of millennium. Sequel to Mass Effect: GHOSTs.
1. The Fall of Earth-Nova

**Me: Here it is, the first chapter of Mass Effect: Invasion.**

**Trin: Final part of this storyline?**

**Me: Unless I decide to make a story for the Spec Ops missions.**

**Trin: You mean multiplayer?**

**Helix: Who is this one centered on?**

**Me: Shepard.**

**Helix: John, Jane or Angel?**

**Me: Yes. On-…**

**Random Cerberus Trooper: On with-…+Cut in half by Gears Lancer+**

**Me: +Covered in blood, puts down Lancer+ On with the story! Oh and for those of you wondering, MCPO…well…Commander John 117, has arrived!**

"Talking."

"_Thinking."_

"[Electronic communication.]"

{AI intercommunication}

**The Fall of Earth-Nova**

[**Nova Galaxy, Sol System, Reclaimer Alliance Tribunal Building:**]-Angel

Helix looked out the window, watching the ships fly back and forth. She also noticed two children playing together, a blonde girl and a black-haired boy. One was holding a toy Alliance fighter, and the other was holding a toy UNSC Sabre. She smiled as the door to the room she was in opened, revealing the youngest of the Shepard siblings.

"All right, trial's starting in a minute," the N7 said.

"Right," Helix said as she followed the soldier.

"_And here I was thinking ONI was untouchable…then again, didn't its new director get the old ONI leaders arrested?"_ Angel thought to herself.

Angel stopped in the middle of the hallway when she noticed two things. One, everyone was running to where they needed to get to, like their life depended on it; and two, Admiral Anderson was walking towards them.

"What'd we stop for?" Kim asked as she noticed Anderson. "Oh."

"Admiral?" Angel said as she shook Anderson's hand, Helix just stood at attention and saluted.

"Good to see you Angel, we need to make this quick," Anderson said as he lead them to the hearing room.

"What's going on, why is everyone in such a hurry?" Kim asked.

"We lost contact with multiple Alliance outposts. One UNSC outpost as well, they reported seeing something that looked like a giant squid heading towards them before we lost contact."

"UNSC ships have been proven to be-…," Kim tried to say.

"Frigates yes, but Prowlers with their shields down and docked?" Anderson asked. "They were in the middle of re arming and repairing damage when the report came."

"Damn," Kim said as they walked into the hearing room.

"We were hoping it would be Captain Shepard here," one of the three Admirals on the podium said.

"My sister has to oversee the final checklist for the SR3 and SR2 before they launch," Angel said as another person walked into the room.

Angel turned to see who it was and saw a pale man with cyan eyes and multiple scars on his face, the rest of his body covered in green armor with a blue stripe on his right shoulder and the number 117 in white at the top right of his chestplate, a green helmet with a gold visor was tucked under his left arm. She looked at Kim to see her standing at attention and saluting the man. She was also wide eyed with what looked like a mix of admiration, awe, and inadequacy towards the man.

"Who is that?" Angel asked as the man stopped near them.

"That's the hero of the UNSC. One of the last remaining SPARTAN IIs, and the CO also," Kim said. "That, my friend, is the one and only MCPO…well…Commander now…John Andrews, S-117."

"Oooh…still doesn't tell me anything. I'm Alliance, not UNSC."

"He's the one that defeated the Flood in the Terra Galaxy and the Forerunner known as The Didact."

"Sirs," the Spartan said. "I was told to report here for my reassignment."

"Commander Andrews, you will be going with Lieutenant Shepard to her sister's ship, the Normandy SR3, for you new assignment," another of the Admirals said.

"Sirs, we just lost contact with Luna," a com officer said.

"The moon, they couldn't be here already," Anderson said in disbelief.

"Since when did anyone have the cat lover's phone number?" Angel asked in a whisper to Kim.

"Not the time," Kim replied with a whisper of her own.

"What about our MACs?" Commander Andrews asked.

"No longer functioning. I don't understand, they were working perfectly a second ago, we aren't even getting signals from the crews."

"What about the MACs themselves?" Anderson asked.

"Still getting signals, but they're completely offline…sir I'm starting to lose the signals from them."

Suddenly the sound of a giant horn could be heard from outside. Everyone turned to look out the window to see a giant, black, metal squid landing, red lightning surrounding it.

"My God," one of the Admirals said.

"Move now!" Commander Andrews shouted as he quickly put on his helmet.

Anderson, Helix, Angel, and John ran towards the door as the window exploded inwards, destroying everything and killing everyone else. Angel slid to the floor as the podium broke Kim's neck. Her tattoo instantly started glowing green as the bones mended themselves, and her neck went back to normal. She looked over to see the Spartan stop the podium from hitting Anderson by grabbing and throwing it to the side. Another explosion happened and Angel ducked again. She got back up to see the four of them were the only survivors. She looked over at the S-II to see a golden aura surround him and disappear after half a second.

"We need to get moving," Anderson said as he handed Angel a pistol.

She looked to see it was a Carnifax version 1. She looked at the SPARTAN and GHOST to see the Commander hand the ONI Operator a Magnum sidearm. Angel activated her Omni-Tool and turned on her shields.

"That could've been a lot worse for me," Helix said as she felt her neck.

"How so?" Angel asked.

"If the podium had killed me instead of breaking my neck and paralyzing me, I wouldn't be talking to you now."

"So you'd still be healing?"

"No, I mean I would be dead, there's no regenerating from death."

Helix walked over to the window to see multiple Alliance ships fighting Reapers. None of them were winning. What confused Angel was that there were no UNSC ships. She looked behind her to see the SPARTAN standing there, his expression unreadable behind his helmet. All Angel could see was a golden reflection of herself.

"Where's the UNSC?" the man, now looking like a hulking, green, death machine, asked.

"We had them leave as soon as we had signs of the Reapers appearing," Anderson explained. "Better not to reveal the ace up our sleeve until we truly need it."

"We're going to lose Earth because of that," John said.

"And we'll be able to do more surprise attacks on Reapers with the UNSC waiting in reserve. You may outmatch them, but they outnumber you."

"You're right," John said, understanding the Admirals reasoning.

"What!" Angel shouted.

"Shepard, we'll be able to take Earth back, if we have more reinforcements. We can't lose most of our heavy hitters by trying to keep one planet from them," Helix said.

"The UNSC used similar tactics during the Human-Covenant War. Sangheili call it drowning the enemy in your blood," John said.

"…They'd just send however many ships they want to take down even one UNSC ship."

"Exactly, now we need to get moving. Helix is in contact with her team aboard the SR2, they'll pick us up from there," Anderson said as he pointed to a destroyed dock not too far from where they were, "but if we aren't there, they can't stay."

"Basically, we miss the bus and we're stuck here," Helix said.

Angel nodded as they jumped down from the window onto a small balcony. They ran across the building as fighting raged around them. The Commander lead them, stopping at a gap near the end of the building. He waved everyone else across, them having to run and jump, before jumping across easily. When he landed, the slightly destroy platform, tilted downward. He jumped forward as the platform fell to the water below them.

"Guess that's why you had us go first," Angel said as they continued to move forward.

They rounded a corner and were nearly crushed by a crashing Alliance fighter. The drone that had shot it down didn't even slow down as it passed by them. Angel climbed a small ladder and looked around before running forward again. Angel vaulted over another small ledge to see several Husks climbing a wall.

"Husks!" she said before firing at them.

John raised his AR and fired three bursts, killing the former humans, and returned it to the position on his back. Angel nodded to him before running towards another ladder, this one leading them down to a different building. She slid down it as several more Husks appeared. They completely ignored the group and began banging on the walls of the building, trying to get in. Angel fired one more shot into the head of one husk before her pistol let out an anger beep.

She reached for another heat exchange before realizing she didn't have any extras. She silently cursed herself before vaulting over the small wall they had used for cover. She activated her Omni-Blade and killed one Husk as Helix's tattoo glowed red and she punched through the other. Another Husk climbed over the side and Angel ran over to it before jumping, giving herself a small spin as she did, and decapitated it. The Husk's head fell to the floor and rolled off the side as a Reaper began charging its laser.

"Oh shit," helix said as she and Angel ran back towards the barricade.

They were halfway there when the building exploded, sending them tumbling forward.

"_That could've gone better,"_ Angel thought to herself as she got back up and looked over the damage.

The building they planned to go through was still mostly intact, only the first room's damage was visible though. She and Helix walked forward as Anderson and Andrews followed them. Helix walked over to the door with Angel and tried to open it. It opened partially as a Husk got halfway through and clawed at them. Both soldiers jumped back out of its reach as Angel reactivated her Omni-Blade and stabbed it through the head. Its body went limp and Angel removed the blade.

"Something's in the vent," John said as he went over to it and knelt down.

Angel went over to see that two children were inside the vent. One of them, a boy, was slowly backing away as the other, a girl stayed there curled in a ball, toy SPARTAN held tightly in her hands.

"Are…are you a SPARTAN?" she asked John.

Angel looked back at the man to see his emotion hiding armor.

"I am. I'm actually the Master Chief," he said to her.

The girl smiled before crawling towards the armored giant. The boy stayed where he was. Once she was close enough, John pulled the girl out of the vent and handed her to Angel.

"Come on Jack, they can help us," the girl said.

"No one can help us," the boy replied as an explosion happened behind them. Angel and John turned around to see another Alliance Cruiser explode from a Reaper's attack. They turned back around to see the boy was gone.

"Jack? Jack!? …Come back," the girl said as she started to cry.

"Hey," Angel said to her. "Come here. It'll be alright, we won't let anything happen to you."

"Can't we help him?"

"Someone else is going to be getting other survivors, but we'll take you with us since you're here," Angel told the girl.

"…Okay," she said as she wiped her eyes.

"What's your name?"

"Max," she said with a smile.

"Well don't worry Max, we have a SPARTAN to help us," Angel said, hoping that didn't mean she should be terrified.

"Right!" she shouted happily as she looked at the Commander and smiled.

John took off his helmet and smiled back at her before putting his helmet back on. The girl's smile widened.

"I kept telling my friends SPARTANs weren't robots."

Angel led the girl to the next room. It looked like the real damage was here. John took Max from Angel as thrusters activated on his armor. He jumped over to the next area, Max held tightly to his chest plate, and waited for the others. Angel, Anderson, and Helix maneuvered through the rubble and began shimmying across a small outcropping. Anderson had to stop Angel from falling halfway across.

"Thanks," she said quickly.

"No need to thank me, you would've done the same," Anderson said to her.

"True," she replied as they finished getting across.

Angel spotted a small pile of Heat Exchanges and grabbed them, reloading her weapon before handing half of what remained to Anderson. The rest she kept for herself. John continued to hold onto the girl as they slid down the side of the building, stopping at what was a bridge of rubble. They crossed it and saw an Alliance Dreadnaught firing at a Reaper. The Reaper fired once and destroyed the ship. The resulting shock wave shook the platform they were on, tilting it to a dangerous angle and spilling them over to a lower platform.

"Ow," Angel said as she got up.

She looked over to see a lower platform that was just barely above the water, one with an Alliance Marine and a UNSC ODST, and the Marine was pinned under a fallen beam. Angel jumped down as the others followed her.

"You guys alright?" she asked them.

"Get down you dumbass!" the ODST shout-whispered at her.

Angel looked across the water to see a group of Reaper troopers that she didn't recognize. She noticed that they only had one hand; the other was some sort of cannon type thing. They noticed her and screeched before firing their strange cannons at the group. John spun and used his body as a shield for Max. She screamed as the others began firing at the Reapers. Angel noticed that when one fell, another would begin to 'eat' it, causing armor to form on its body.

"Cannibals," she said aloud.

"Neat name, we'll use it, now kill the damn things!" Helix shouted at her.

Angel put three quick rounds into the head of the last one. John turned back around as Max clung to the back of his leg. Helix walked over to the ODST and Marine, lifting the sleeve of her shirt to revel another tattoo. The ODST's visor depolarized and revealed a smiling man in his mid-thirties.

"105th, kickin ass, takin names-…," the ODST started.

"And droppin into hell for 200 years," Helix finished as she and Anderson helped lift the beam off the Alliance soldier.

"You guys call in for evac?"

"Yeah, need a ride?"

"Would love one, an Alliance communicator is near that crashed gunship."

"Let's move," Anderson said as the group got up and began moving towards the gunship, the Marine being helped along by the ODST.

Angel rounded a corner and all but slammed into a hail of bullets. She dropped to the floor and rolled over to cover as her shields began to slowly recharge. The ODST popped out from the corner, gun raised, and began sending bursts into the heads of the Cannibals.

"Clear the EZ!" the ODST shouted as he ran forward, Helix close behind him.

"Don't fuck with the 105th!" Helix shouted happily as she fired her magnum at the Cannibals.

The ODST tossed her his Silenced Magnum and Helix began taking down even more of the Cannibals. She ran forward, killing another and using its body as a meat-shield while killing the last group of them. She dropped the body as the others ran up to them.

"Hoorah! Just like old times, huh Kimmy?" The ODST said.

"It thought we agreed you'd stop calling me that when we were kids?" Kim replied with a laugh.

"Can't let my favorite cousin off without a few scrapes now can I?"

Anderson walked over to the communicator and activated it. He then called the SR2, hoping that they weren't being jammed.

"Anderson to Shepard. Captain Shepard, do you read?"

"[Joker here, we read you loud and clear Admiral,]" the Normandy's pilot said.

"We're at the EZ, we have a civilian with us, get here now."

"[Understood, I see you now. Lowering ramp.]"

Angel looked up to see the SR2 come low to the ground near them, its ramp lowered. She looked back to See John pick up Max and Kim and her cousin help lift the injured Marine towards the SR2. The group moved as fast as they could, managing to get to the ship just as more Cannibals arrived. By then, the injured Marine, Kim, Angel, John, and Max were aboard the Normandy. Anderson and the ODST turned and looked at the Cannibals, watching as a stray missile destroyed them.

"Anderson, come on," Jane shouted from behind Angel.

The younger Shepard turned to see her older sister standing in her armor with Ash and Kaiden at her sides.

"I'm not going," Anderson said.

"The hell you mean you're not going Admiral?" Kim asked.

"You've seen what's happening, everyone still down here needs a leader."

"If you're staying then so am I," Jane said.

"No, you need to gather the Alliance's forces. We won't have any chance of winning this war without them."

"I'm staying with the Admiral, I can help him with how any UNSC troops still here operate," Kim's cousin said.

"No time to argue, just go!" Anderson shouted. "Oh, and Operator Helix?"

Angel watched as Kim turned to face the Admiral, catching the dog tags he threw to her.

"Consider yourself reinstated, Colonel."

Angel looked back out the ramp as the Normandy started rising. She watched as Anderson and the ODST started running towards where other Alliance soldiers were. She looked towards where a group of shuttles was landing to see the child that had been with Max near them. The child looked up at the Normandy SR2 as it continued to rise, only looking away when a Reaper walked out from behind a building. Everyone at the Evac Zone looked up at the giant mech before running towards a shuttle. Angel watched as the boy climbed into the shuttle closest to him. It closed and launched into the only to be shot down half a second later by the Reaper. Angel looked away as the squid shaped robot finished off the other shuttles.

"[Heading to the SR3 now,]" Joker said over the coms as the ramp closed and sealed.

**Me: That was fun.**

**Trin: I'm not sure whether or not I should be worried for the Alliance, or feel sorry for the Reapers.**

**Me: Worry first, sorrow later. Codex!**

March 3rd, 2566: Nova Galaxy Earth falls to Reaper forces. Reapers manage to temporarily disable MAC Platforms long enough to get troops aboard them and make landfall on the planet. With no UNSC ships in the area at the time, Nova Earth fell within an hour. Contact was lost with the two THORs that were planet side. Combat recordings and reports show both mechs being swarmed by Reaper forces, though taking a considerable chunk of the Reaper forces with them. Reclaimer Alliance forces, other than the small amount trapped on Nova Earth, have retreated to the Citadel. Normandy SR3 was last seen heading towards Mars, the SR2 launching from it when the SR3 got close.


	2. Mission to Mars

**Me: Hello again readers…I'm running out of ideas for these bits.**

**Trin: Well…how about what's happening in this chapter.**

**Me: Mars mission. The Commander and Cortana will be part of the ground team. It'll also have a short switch from following Shepard, to following John, and then back. It won't have any switches after that. Oh, and OCs will be returning in this one and the Spec Ops missions side story I'll eventually make.**

**Random Covenant Storm Soldier: On-…+Spike of black metal pierces skull+**

**Helix: +Armor reforms over arm+**

**Me: On with the story.**

"Talking."

"_Thinking."_

"[Electronic communication.]"

{AI intercommunication}

**Mission to Mars**

[**Nova Galaxy, Sol System, Mars Archives:**]-Jane, (John)

Jane looked around the Kodiak to see SPARTAN 117, Angel, and Ashley. After the SR2 got back to the SR3, they had been deployed to Mars. John stayed on the Dreadnaught while Jane took the SPARTAN II Commander, her little sister, and Ashley. Jane looked back to the cockpit of the shuttle to see a UNSC pilot in the co-pilot's seat, and Lieutenant Steve Cortez in the pilot's seat.

"Captain, we'll be landing soon," Cortez said to her.

"Understood, make sure we're dark the entire time," Jane replied as she put her helmet on.

She walked back to the cargo hold to see Angel wearing the newer N7 Demolisher variant armor. Jane looked back at her own standard N7 armor, feeling slightly inadequate. Granted, her armor was personalized to have multiple blue stripes with the main part being white, something she was happy about, but the Demolisher variant, standard for all N7 Soldier class troopers, had better armor and shields than hers did. She looked over at Ashley to see her in the standard Alliance Marine combat armor. Jane sighed before looking at the hulking, green, soldier. Jane didn't know that the SPARTAN was an actual person, and Angel didn't feel like sharing that information.

"117, ready any weaponry you have," Jane said to the 'mech.'

"Understood Captain," he replied before double checking his MA5D.

"Ash, Angel, you two ready?"

"Ready and waiting sis," Angel replied.

"Ready for combat Cap," Ash replied.

The Kodiak landed and the ground team ran out of the shuttle. Jane looked around for a second before noticing a storm heading their way. She turned back to the Kodiak and motioned for them to take off again.

"[We'll stay in the area ma'am,]" the UNSC pilot said as Cortez made the shuttle take off.

Jane nodded as she ran over towards the team. She saw Angel staring at the storm in the distance. Ashley nodded her head towards 117 as Jane looked towards the SPARTAN II. The S-II seemed to be looking at the further part of the station.

"That's a big storm," Angel said as they started moving again.

"Oh come one LT, it's not that bad," Ashley said.

"She's right, I've seen worse storms," the SPARTAN said.

"Well I still doubt we want to be outside when it gets here," Angel replied to them.

"Agreed, so let's get moving," Jane said as she dropped down a small cliff.

She looked to her left and saw a dead Alliance Marine. The SPARTAN dropped down and saw what she was looking at. He walked over to her silently before someone spoke up.

"[Corporal Andrew James. Died of a gunshot to the head,]" a woman Jane didn't recognize said.

"Who the hell was that?" Ash asked.

"Cortana, she's an AI," the SPARTAN said.

"I thought you were the AI?"

"[…Wow…remind me to send Johnson 50 creds from Del Rio's account,]" Cortana said to John.

"Commander John Andrews, SPARTAN 117," John said to them.

"So you're an actual person?" Jane said.

"Wait, your sister didn't tell you?"

"No she didn't," Jane said as she looked at Angel.

The youngest of the Shepard family smiled innocently beneath her helmet as she walked towards the Archive's entrance. She got to the turn and ducked behind a small wall. Jane and Ash looked at each other before the rest of them sprinted over. Jane looked down the path to see an Alliance Marine on his knees, hands behind his head, and several Cerberus troopers, one of which was about to execute the Marine.

(John ran forward and slammed into the Trooper. The Cerberus soldier went flying into the side of a boulder, helmet breaking from the impact, as the others tried to raise their weapons. As they did, John hit one with the butt of his rifle before grabbing the now dead soldier and throwing him into another Trooper. Angel, Jane, and Ash fired their rifles at the remaining soldiers. Only Jane missed the head shot, allowing the last of the Cerberus soldiers to fire back and warn the others.

"Shit," she said as she blinked into the trooper, setting off an explosion as she did.

The Trooper's corpse went flying as the group moved forward.

"The hell is Cerberus doing here?" Ash asked.

"You want to have a chat with the heavily armed death squad, be my guest," Angel said as Jane shook her head.

"Doesn't matter, we're here for the Archives. If Cerberus gets in the way, kill them, if not, this goes quicker," Jane said.

"Agreed, trying to kill all enemy soldiers may cost us our true objective," John said as he ran forward and grabbed another Cerberus soldier by the throat.

"[Ten points if you can nail the sniper by throwing that guy,]" Cortana said as she marked the more dangerous target on John's HUD.

John didn't throw the soldier himself, but he did throw the grenade the Trooper had. The explosive device sailed through the air, detonating where the Nemesis had been barely a second ago. John put up his MA5D and pulled out his BR85. He lifted the weapon to his shoulder and activated his visor's zoom.

The feature connected to the electronic scope and showed John what was able to be seen through it. He waited for the sniper to pop back out of cover before pulling the trigger. Once the sniper did, he fired the three round burst towards her. The armor piercing round soared through the air, impacting the Nemesis in the stomach, chest, and head.

"[Target is down, I say we get moving now Chief,]" Cortana said afterward.

"Captain, area is currently clear of hostiles," John shouted at the rest of the group.

They ran up to meet him at the entrance as Jane went to the console. She pressed a few buttons and the ramp closed off the outside from them. As soon as it sealed, John's HUD started to fill with static.

"[Give me a…what the…damn, someone's clogging up the helmet, it's useless now John, you're gonna have to ditch it. Don't worry the newer armor doesn't need the helmet for the shields to stay active,]" Cortana said to him as the others began to remove their helmets.

"What about just clearing up the view?" John asked. "And is it still EVA ready?"

"[Done and it is, I still think it might be better to just take off the helmet for now, I'll figure out what's going on when we get back to the SR2.]"

"What about you?"

"[I'm in the entire armor and your transponder, I'll be fine.]"

John nodded as the extra components of his helmet's HUD disappeared. All it had now was the outlining of the small design on the outer pert of the visor. John removed the helmet as he looked back at the Alliance soldiers. Ashley still looked at him shocked, but the others just nodded their heads.)

"You won't be out of commission without all the UNSC upgrades your helmet had are you?" Jane asked.

"No ma'am. SPARTAN IIs and IIIs were trained to never only rely on their electronic equipment," John said as he connected his helmet to the small holder on his armor.

"Good," Jane replied as the small platform they were on rose.

They waited as it continued to rise before stopping at what looked like a garage area. The group took a few steps forward before hearing something crawling through the ducts. Jane stopped to figure out what it was when gunshots sounded from them. She pulled her rifle back out and ran towards one of the trucks to use for cover, the others doing the same.

Jane looked over at the vents when a cover fell off. An Asari in a white and blue scientist's suit dropped out quickly followed by two Cerberus soldiers. Jane looked at the Asari and recognized her as Liara. John raised his rifle at the Cerberus soldiers as Liara created a singularity, trapping the Troopers. One of them flailed his arms, trying to right himself as the other tried to turn and shoot her. Liara smiled as she raised her pistol and fired twice, hitting both troopers in the chest. They fell and one of them stopped moving, the other tried to sit up and raise his rifle. Liara walked over to them and finished them off with quick shots to the head of each trooper. Jane looked back to notice John moving forward, rifle now pointed at Liara.

"Stand down Commander, she's with us," Jane said as she placed a hand at the end of his rifle.

"Understood ma'am," John replied as he lowered the weapon, still leaving it in his hands.

"_Well at least he won't have to reach behind himself for it,"_ Jane thought to herself as Liara noticed them.

"Jane," she said as she walked over.

Jane saw John, Ash, and Angel walk over to the window as Liara started talking to her.

"I missed you," the scientist said as Jane grabbed her hands.

"Same here, but I think we should catch up when we aren't trying to grab things before Reapers arrive."

"You're right, now isn't a very good time."

"Any idea what Cerberus might be after, anything specific in the Archives?"

"Something that we discovered recently, blueprints for what we believe may be a Prothean weapon."

"A weapon? To use against the Reapers?"

"I believe so, yes."

"When need-…"

"[Got it…sorry, I just got coms for John's helmet back on. Shield monitor and scope sight to, but I still can't get the other extras online, something's keeping a closer eye on those,]" Cortana said over the coms.

"I'll take what I can get," John replied as he reattached his helmet.

"Who was that?" Liara asked.

"Cortana, she's the Commander's personal AI."

"Yes, the SPARTAN II commando that nearly single handedly defeated the Covenant. I thought his AI companion was destroyed?"

"[The old me was, I'm the new model. Made from what remained of the old Cortana, don't try to get after me John, that isn't classified info,]" the AI said as her hologram appeared on a computer monitor.

Jane looked over to see a blue woman in an open track blue jacket over a light blue shirt, dark blue pants, and dark blue combat boots. Her face was the exact same as the original Cortana, and the lines of code the original had were there as small designs on the new version's outfit, going along the outer center of her jacket's sleeves, and the outer center of her pant legs. Jane looked at Liara to see her girlfriend's 'I want that' smile.

"No," Jane said.

"But-…," Liara tried to argue.

"I'd rather not have my girlfriend killed, so no."

"We're burning time here sis," Angel called over from a walkway above them.

"How did you get up there?"

"We had Goliath throw us up here," Ashley said from next to Angel.

"[Goliath is a new one,]" Cortana commented from her position.

Jane walked up to the small elevator and activated it. The lift rose with her and Liara on it as John jumped and vaulted over the edge of the walkway. They went towards the door, Jane having them take up positions near it, as John opened it, grenade in one hand, rifle in the other. John heard several Cerberus troopers inside the room talking. He looked at Jane and she nodded to Angel. The youngest of the Shepards smiled before becoming invisible. John pulled out a knife and activated his armor's Active Camouflage, also becoming invisible. Jane, Liara, and Ashley ran towards the small pipes in the room and took cover.

Jane waited at her spot until a Cerberus soldier stopped by it. She activated her Omni-Blade as she reached up and grabbed the trooper, quickly dragging him back behind the pipes and stabbing him in the face. At the same time, John slit the throat of another with his knife, and Angel snapped the third one's neck. Liara stopped the final one from raising the alarm by locking him in a stasis field. Ashley walked up and stabbed him with her own Omni-Blade.

"Area clear, Captain," John said as he sheathed his knife.

"Let's move out," Jane said as they walked into the next hall.

Inside were more Cerberus troopers, though this time they noticed them soon enough to raise the alarm. Several spun around as another ran off into a different room. Jane raised her Avenger and fired a few short bursts at the Cerberus Commandos. John threw his grenade at the remaining soldiers. The explosion killed all but one of them. The last being sent flying towards them by the blast. The trooper tried to get up, only to find a Hornet pointed at his face. Jane smiled as she noticed the trooper look towards his holster to see nothing there.

"Yeah, it's your gun," Jane said as she pulled the trigger.

She looked back and handed the weapon to Liara before pulling her own gun back out. John and Angel, now visible again, ran towards the next door and opened it, only to quickly duck behind cover as bullets started flying towards them. Jane Ran over to Angel and looked down the hallway to see the Cerberus Troopers were behind cover, or using personal riot shields. As Jane went back into cover, Angel pulled out one of her sticky grenades and tossed it to John. The SPARTAN II armed it and popped out of cover. He held it back for two seconds before throwing it at the Cerberus commandos. He ducked back behind cover as his shields broke. Jane looked to see the grenade stick to the helmet of the Cerberus Centurion directing the other troops, the one that was in the center.

"Nice toss," Jane said as the grenade went off, killing all of the Cerberus soldiers near the Centurion.

Another ten minutes of this, and they were walking into the main Archive complex. Jane watched the security feeds with Liara as the other three members of their squad looked around. Jane turned her attention back to the monitors as it showed a scientist shoot two guards in the back and open the airlock they had just come through. Jane balled her fists as Liara backed up.  
>"I should've known," the Asari said. "Dr. Eva was new to the team, I should've been more careful about letting her join, but I was so caught up in the Archives-…"<p>

"You couldn't have known Liara."

"I know that, I just should have paid more attention to the team than to a weapon we don't even know works…or that even is a weapon."

"Finding a way to beat the Reapers is all we should be focused on," Jane said as John waved over the other two. "We should get going with the others."

"Right," Liara said as Jane hugged her.

Liara smiled before pulling out the Hornet Jane had taken from the Cerberus soldier. Jane smiled as she pulled out the Maverick she had taken from a Centurion. They ran over to the others as the door opened, revealing an auto turret that started firing on them.

"Take cover!" Ashley said.

"No shit!]" Cortana and Angel both said in reply.

"Cortana, hack that turret," Jane said as she stuck to cover.

"[On it,]" the AI replied as the turret stopped firing. "[We're good let's go.]"

"Cortana, can we use the turret for fire support?" John asked as the team moved up.

"[Not unless they're under the turret or where we are now.]"

"Damn," Angel said as she raised her Black Widow sniper.

Jane looked at where she was aiming to see multiple Cerberus soldiers waiting inside the control area. Jane pulled out her Maverick and ran towards the door to the control area. John went to the door just as the lock turned red and disappeared. The SPARTAN pulled his fist back and sent it forward. A loud clang was heard as the metal of his glove impacted the metal door. John punched again, this time leaving a dent. John continued to punch until the door was barely connected. He pulled his fist back once more and sent it forward as fast as he could. The door went flying into the room, managing to hit one Cerberus trooper as the others took cover. They popped back out as the others started shooting.

Jane ran and slid into cover at one of the tables in the room. She switched out her Maverick for her Katana shotgun and began firing at the Cerberus soldiers. Jane fired three shots in to the Centurion to take him down before ducking and reloading. She popped back up to see a Cerberus Trooper right in front of her. Jane smiled as she pulled the trigger with the barrel directly in front of the soldier's head. It disappeared in an explosion of blood as Jane jumped over the table and activated her barrier.

The added defense allowed Jane to go close quarters against the Cerberus troopers. She grabbed one and stabbed him with her Omni-Blade as she fired her Katana at another. She spun around and shoved the barrel of her gun into the gut of another Cerberus Trooper. Jane turned to see Angel get surrounded by the last of the Cerberus troopers there. They closed in on her, weapons raised.

"ANGEL!" Jane shouted as the Cerberus soldiers suddenly dropped.

Jane looked at Angel in confusion before noticing the sword in her hands. Angel flipped her Black Widow to where the stock was facing the ceiling and slid the blade into it. Jane heard a small click from the weapon as the blade's handle also disappeared. That's when she realized something. Angel was an Infiltrator class soldier, yet she was wearing the Soldier class armor, all N7 Infiltrators were trained in sword combat to counter Cerberus Phantoms, yet Jane never saw Angel carrying a blade.

"You keep your blade in your gun," Jane said as she walked up to her sister.

The younger Shepard smiled as she nodded her head.

"I like the Demolisher armor better because it has better protection. I upgraded it to where I can easily move as fast as other Infiltrators in combat," Angel said as she put her sniper on her back.

Jane noticed that when the weapon folded, the blade apparently did as well. She sighed before walking over to the consoles to see Liara already working on it. She looked around for Ashley and noticed the Commander waving her over. She walked to where he was to see Ash messing with a Cerberus Trooper's helmet, trying to get it off.

"[Remember, you give it to John, and I'll work my magic on it,]" Cortana said as she appeared on a nearby computer.

"What's going on?" Jane asked.

"We're trying to get to this guy's communicator so we can call over a ride," Ashley explained.

"Alright, need any help?"

"No I think I-…," she stopped as the helmet opened to reveal a person that looked like he was halfway between Human and Husk. "Oh God."

Ash backed up as Jane involuntarily reached for her pistol.

"They…they didn't do that to you and John did they?"

"No…I don't think so…most likely no, Miranda said something about the Illusive Man wanting to keep use the same as we were before our deaths."

"So nothing will happen…right?" Angel asked as she walked up. "I don't think mom and I could handle losing you two again."

"I swear nothing will happen sis," Jane said as she grabbed the Cerberus Soldier's com.

She handed it to the Commander so Cortana could mess with it. The blue lights on the device shut off and turned back on, this time being red lights.

"Hello? This is Delta, anyone read?" Jane asked.

"[Delta? Where the hell have you been?]" someone asked her from the other side of the coms. "[Never mind, what's the situation?"

"Hostiles have been eliminated, awaiting transport."

"[Understood, we're sending a tram over now.]"

As the Cerberus Trooper finished saying this, the lights around them shut off. Jane looked over at the console with Cortana's hologram. The AI smiled innocently as Jane returned to the com.

"One of the squad just busted the lights. It's nearly pitch black here now."

"[Thanks for the heads up. You sure it was your squad?]"

"Yeah, he's getting yelled at now."

"[Alright, tram's on its way.]"

Liara got to them as Jane stated pointing to different spots inside the tram area. John ran over to a row of large cargo crates near the door, Angel stayed back with Ashley, and Liara and Jane went to a row of small cargo boxes to wait. The signal for the tram beeped and everyone aimed their weapons at the beams of light coming from the tram.

"Delta, you out there?" one of the Cerberus Troopers asked.

"Yep," Jane said as she fired at the Cerberus Commandos.

The troopers panicked from the crossfire ambush, and began firing randomly. Jane watched as John popped out of quickly took down the Cerberus soldiers, leaving only the ones with riot shields. Jane smiled as Angel put a single round through each of the Cerberus Troopers' shields and into their hearts. At least Jane thought that was where Angel hit them, she just saw them drop after being hit.

As the last Cerberus soldier fell, the team got up and went to the tram. John stood near the front as everyone put their helmets back on and waited as Jane got the tram moving again. The doors opened and the tram got moving.

"What do you think we'll find over there?" Ashley asked.

"Stupid question Ash." Angel replied.

"Brace!" John shouted as a bomb and shook their tram.

Jane stumbled forward as the tram stopped shaking. She got back up to see another tram heading towards them. She looked over at Angel and nodded her head. Her sister nodded back before pulling out her sniper and firing at the troopers on the other tram. Jane saw three out of four drop as the fourth ducked into cover. Before Angel could retarget him, the trams stopped, side by side. Jane ran and jumped to the other tram as Liara and Ashley did the same. Angel and John quickly followed them, John causing the other tram to shake as he landed. Jane looked back to see Angel pull her blade out again and cut off the last Cerberus Trooper's head. She then looked back at the other tram just in time to see it fall. Jane looked around for the console just as the tram started moving towards the Archives. She looked over to see Liara standing near the console. She nodded to her before turning her attention back to the front of the tram, and the door at the end of the tracks. Jane double checked the ammo on her rifles before reloading and waiting. The doors opened as the tram settled in. Once they closed, the inner doors opened and Cerberus soldiers started firing at them. Jane ducked into cover as Angel rolled out, sword still in her hands. She switched to using it one handed as she pulled her Shuriken out of its holster at her hip.

Jane popped back out of cover and fired her rifle at the Cerberus reinforcements coming into the room. Jane stopped as Angel killed the last Cerberus guardian by stabbing his head through the small hole in the shield. Jane watched as Angel pushed the soldier's corpse over, her blade sliding out as it fell. Jane walked up as Angel spun her blade and sheathed it. Jane looked around and spotted a weapons locker. She went over and looked inside to see a Vindicator inside it. She pulled it out and tossed it to Ashley. Jane turned to face the next door and opened it.

"Wow," Angel said as she walked in after Jane.

Jane removed her helmet after the area pressurized. She looked towards the main console and nodded her head at it. Jane looked around and moved towards the console as Cortana suddenly spoke up.

"[Hey, that hacker is in hear…and she's an AI…John, over in that other console area,]" the AI said.

Jane turned to watch John sneak over to the area Cortana had designated. Three seconds later, a woman was thrown from there, landing hard in front of Jane. John ran over and grabbed her head before she could move. Jane looked into the scientist's eyes as John held her up. Suddenly, the unknown person's eyes widened and dulled before closing. Ten seconds later, they reopened to reveal light blue eyes instead of their previous brown.

"Ok, we're good," the woman said in Cortana's voice.

"Cortana, is that you?" John asked.

"[A part of me, yes. The 'real' me is still inside the chip, which is still in your head,]" Cortana said over the coms.

"Wait, you're in two places at once?" Angel asked as she walked up.

"It's a very simple thing to do for UNSC military grade Smart AIs.]" Cortana said from both the body and the coms. "[I could actually be in more places than just two if I wanted."

"Wow…just…wow," Angel said as she contemplated the uses of that.

"I think we should get back to the Normandy. Our dearly departed AI friend here managed to downlo-…" Cortana, in the body, was interrupted by a hologram activating.

"[Shepard,]" the man said.

"Illusive Man," Jane growled. "What do you want?"

The man turned his head to look at who he thought was Dr. Eva.

"[What my informant has, release her and I might let you leave here in one piece.]"

"I think I'm rather comfy where I'm at now," Cortana replied.

"[Interesting, you must have a very talented hacker in your group to have rewritten my AI,]" TIM said.

"Or we had an AI of our own," Jane replied as they started leaving. "We have what we came for. Just so you know, we will kill you."

"Captain, I think it would be best if we kept the Archives out of Cerberus' hands," John said.

Jane looked back at the Archive before sighing and nodding to the green giant. John pulled out a canister of C12 and attached it to the glass surrounding the Prothean Beacon. He went back to the group before detonating the explosive. Cortana smiled before looking over her body and frowning.

"Remind me to ask Lotus how she altered her body," she said as John turned to face her and Jane raised an eyebrow.

"Let's just get back to the SR2 and SR3," Jane said as they left the facility.

**Me: Yep, John just blew up a Beacon. Also, the ability to alter how the body looks came from Lemanruss669.**

**Trin: Yeah, Trey's idea was just to give Cortana an ONI built version.**

**Me: Well, at least she'll be able to wear even SPARTAN armor if she wants. That's all for now, VR Commando ATA out.**


	3. Visiting Light of Sol

**Me: Time for chapter 3.**

**Trin: So now what are you gonna do? EDI doesn't have a body, yet Cortana does.**

**Jane: 500 creds say that every ChiefxCortana shipper is gonna be gunning for you.**

**Me: Oh they will. I've basically curb-stomped their hopes, put the rest in a wood chipper, and stuffed the remains into an incinerator.**

**Trin: Ha! Well…on with-…**

**Random Cerberus Soldier: On with-…+Kicked to floor before being curb-stomped+**

**Me: Trin…continue.**

**Trin: On with the story!**

"Talking."

"_Thinking."_

"[Electronic communication.]"

{AI intercommunication}

**Visiting Light of Sol**

[**Nova Galaxy, UNSC Light of Sol (New Council headquarters), Location Unknown:**]-John

John looked at the main monitor for the SR3's control room. Currently, it showed the Light of Sol. The UNSC's greatest achievement, which almost bankrupted them, was even larger than both the new and old Citadel combined. John wasn't sure what compelled them to build it, though rumors said that it was the UNSC's attempt at creating a Forerunner Planet Crusher class vessel. John shuddered at the thought.

"Commander, the Captain is waiting for you on the SR2," a com officer told him.

"On my way," John replied as he went to the elevator.

The doors closed as he felt himself lowering. After one minute, the doors opened to reveal the SR2's hanger. He walked off the elevator to see a Japanese school girl in a semi-military uniform helping someone that looked like Cortana's hologram with black hair that was highlighted blue at the ends. John shrugged before noticing someone with cat ears and a matching tail walk towards the Normandy.

"You know that's illegal right?" John asked.

"Yep," the person replied. "What you gonna arrest me?"

"Nope, just thought you might want to know."

John walked over to the ramp and went inside. In the SR2's hanger, he found Ashley talking to Kaiden about something. He walked up to them to figure out what the conversation was about.

"…upgraded the body's shields, yet uses armor with its own shielding," Ash said.

"What's going on?" John asked.

"Just talking about Cortana's new body Commander," Kaiden replied.

"Wait…what?"

"They were talking about this," someone said behind John.

He spun around to see the woman with black and blue hair standing there, her arms crossed. She had an amused smile on her face and an intelligent glint in her eyes.

"And you are?" John asked, crossing his own arms.

"UNSC AI CTN-0452-10, Cortana 2.0, at your service," the woman said with a small bow.

"Well…I'm not really sure how to react to that," John said as he went to the elevator.

John got inside and waited as it took him to the Captain's Cabin on level 1. The doors opened to reveal Jane trying to knock the head off the cat woman he saw earlier. Said cat person had a large smile on her face, while Jane was glaring at her with blood lust.

"Luna, you are dead!" Jane shouted as she threw a biotic warp at the S-III.

John stepped to the side, allowing Luna to jump into the elevator, and walked into the small hallway. Before Jane could do anything else, the doors closed and the elevator went to the hanger.

"Do I want to know?" John asked.

"I hate cats," Jane replied before heading back into her room.

John shrugged before following. The CO quarters were the same as always, except for the open trap door above the bed. John sniffed the air, and got a hint of something he didn't recognize. Deciding he didn't want to know, he shrugged it off.

"You wanted to see me sis?"

"Yeah, you, Angel, Cortana, and SPARTAN 117 are coming with me on our next mission, so grab what you'll need and bring them to the SR2. Also I want you, 117, Liara, and Cortana coming with me to Sol's Council Chambers."

"Any specific reason?"

"We're Council Spectres, they want a new human Spectre for the UNSC, I'm thinking either the SPARTAN or he and Cortana pick from the ranks, and Liara was the one that discovered the schematics."

"Makes sense, but I don't think we have to take them for that."

"[Actually that would make it easier,]" Cortana said over the coms.

"What. The. Fuck." John said simply.

"Were you spying on us?" Jane asked in an annoyed voice.

"Well yeah, what did you expect? I was designed for infiltration and sabotage," Cortana said as her new body walked into the room.

"She's got the infiltrator's attitude down," John said as Jane sighed.

"John isn't the kind of person that would be good for the image of the Spectres," Cortana told them. "I have several possible candidates if you need them."

"The candidates are 117 or candidates he picks from a list he makes, it's our choice."

"…Well, it's either someone who has a family to go home to, and who is slightly anti-social to anyone outside of the SPARTAN's select group of trusted people, or a handful of ODSTs, S-IVs, or maybe a GHOST."

"Wait, 117 has a kid?" John asked, shocked.

"Six year old daughter," Cortana said with a smile. "Cute kid, smart to."

"Didn't know that."

"I better get my stuff together for the mission."

"Hey Cortana," Jane asked as the AI turned to leave. "What happened to that Cerberus AI?"

"I deleted it. It was lower grade than even a UNSC dumb AI."

With that, Cortana left the room. John looked at Jane and smiled. Jane sighed before nodding her head.

"It'll be easier for someone else to be a Spectre than it would 117," Jane said.

"My thoughts exactly sis," John said as they both felt the SR2 starting to move. "Guess we're there."

"We'll dock the SR2 at a closer hanger and launch a shuttle to take us the rest of the way," Jane said as she went over to her weapons locker and grabbed a Phalanx before tossing John a Paladin.

John smiled as he holstered the pistol on his lower back. His sisters had managed to get two of the three most difficult weapons to get in their galaxy, and one of them had modified hers. John walked out of the room, Jane following, before getting into the elevator. He then noticed that Jane was wearing an N7 jacket that was white with blue stripes on both arms over a black shirt, jeans, and white boots. As usual, it was the same outfit as his, only opposite colors.

"We really need to stop doing this," John said as Jane noticed it to.

"…I didn't notice until just now," Jane said to him.

He sighed before the elevator brought them to the Cargo Bay. They exited it and went to the airlock, 117, Cortana, and Liara already waiting there for them. As they were boarding the shuttle, Angel ran and jumped aboard. John looked at her to see she was wearing an N7 hoodie, grey pants, and black shoes. He also noticed that Angel had cut the sleeves off of her Hoodie, revealing grey sleeves. As usual, she kept the hood up. Angel looked between her older siblings and sighed.

"You two really need to stop doing that," she said.

"We know," Jane and John replied at the same time.

The shuttle's door closed as they took off. John went to the cockpit to see Cortez flying them towards the main hub of the LoS. He looked at the co-pilot seat to see a UNSC pilot sitting there. The blonde turned to look at the Commander, then to Cortez, before looking back at her console and smiling, the same smile John used when he had one of his ideas.

"_Oh shit,"_ he thought to himself before grabbing onto something with a death grip.

"Hey Steve, how about we go NAG?" she said.

Cortez thought about it for a second before smiling and nodding.

"Alright Sheila, we'll go No Artificial Gravity," Cortez said as he started pressing a few buttons.

"Grab hold of something!" John shouted as he ran to the back and buckled in.

Everyone else followed his example and buckle in on random seats. Suddenly John stopped feeling the pull of gravity from the shuttle's floor. Instead, it was trying to pull him towards the rear of the shuttle. He looked towards the cockpit to see Cortez rapidly pressing buttons across his console. He looked back to see Liara and Jane holding on for dear life, something he was also doing, yet the other three people weren't. Commander Andrews, wearing the standard UNSC Navy Uniform, was just sitting there, no reaction at all. Cortana was the same way. John then looked towards Angel.

"_WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH HER!"_ he screamed in his head as he saw Angel laughing like a maniac and throwing her arms in the air, treating this like some sort of thrill ride.

"I fucking love this shit!" Angel shouted as Cortez rolled the shuttle over a LoS inter-ship transport. "Hey Steve, what else you got!?"

"You sure LT?" the Alliance pilot asked her. 'We aren't exactly used to actual g-force pull."

"Didn't you hear what I said first? Almost wish I was a pilot…scratch that, I want pilot training."

"_Oh dear God,"_ John and Jane thought at the same time.

"With that attitude, you might be perfect for it," the UNSC pilot shouted back to her.

"I took the tests, got second only to Joker."

"So all that's left is actual vehicles."

"Bingo," Angel shouted as Cortez put them into a tight turn, making Angel scream in excitement.

"There is something wrong with you!" Liara said.

"We don't have any problems," Cortana said as she stretched out her arms.

"We are used to this, Alliance vessels have had AG for most of its existence," Commander Andrews said.

"And Asari vessels have had it for longer!"

"Sis, we really need to have a talk about you becoming a pilot," Jane said.

"The only one who can out fly me is my boyfriend. I don't think I'll have any problems."

"Not what we're getting at sis," John said as the shuttle began to slow.

"Aw, over already?" Angel whined sadly.

"Unfortunately yeah, we're here," Cortez said as he landed the shuttle and the doors opened.

"[Welcome to LoS Council Zone,]" a hologram said to them.

John turned to see what looked like General Eisenhower of Earth's history. He turned back to see the others getting out of the shuttle. He watched as Commander Andrews looked around the area, being awestruck even if it was his government's creation.

"[Wait…Cortana?]" John heard Eisenhower say. "[Nice upgrade, wish I had my own body.]"

"Sorry Ike, I stole it from Cerberus," the female AI replied.

"[Damn. Well I was told to inform your group that the Council is already waiting for you, and that Commander Andrew's family is currently here.]"

"They are?" the SPARTAN asked.

He was answered when a little girl ran up and jumped at him. He easily caught her and held her close.

"Dad!" she shouted as she hugged him.

John watched the SPARTAN's interaction with her, expecting a very strict parent, and was shocked to discover the SPARTAN actually smiled. He noticed that the girl had his eyes, but darker black hair. He turned his head a bit to see a woman in UNSC Urban color BDUs walking up, the black and grey armor matching the coloring of the ship around them.

"Emily, I know you haven't seen dad for two months, but you can't just run off," the woman said with a smile.

"But you always say that this is the safest place in either galaxy," Emily said in response.

"…True, but you still have to do what I say," the woman replied.

"Your mother's right Emily, you need to do what we say,' the Commander said as he put the girl down.

John turned back see angel staring at her, or at least he thought she was. She managed to always hide her face from her nose and above thanks to the hood's shadow. All he could see was her smile, one that he didn't really like.

"Don't say it," he told her.

"Should I tell Ash that you're starting to want a kid, or will you…or maybe Jane can…or-…" Angel was stopped by Jane putting a hand over the younger Shepard's mouth.

"Come on sis, I don't think you want to continue that," Jane said as she dragged Angel towards the Council Meeting Room.

John turned to look back at the SPARTAN and his family to notice that Cortana had apparently started talking to the woman, who now had an amused smile on her face. John whistled to get their attention.

"We do have a meeting to get to," John said as Cortana rubbed Emily's head before running over.

The SPARTAN hugged his daughter once more before heading over to John and Cortana. John smiled as they started walking to the meeting room again. They entered to find Jane already talking with them. John went over to the other side of her and waited for the conversation to finish.

"…I hope you understand," the new Turian Councilor said.

"…Of course," Jane said with a sigh.

"Now onto other matters. Do you have any suggestions for the UNSC's Spectre?" The new Asari Councilor said.

"Yes…somewhat. Commander John Andrews of the SPARTAN IIs or anyone from a list he compiles."

"Is there any reason why you aren't suggesting only him?"

"The Commander has a family. That would be hard for a Spectre."

"Based on the SPARTAN II mission parameters, nothing would be different if he were to join the Spectres," the new Salarian Councilor said.

"Spectres need to also act as diplomats, SPARTANs are not diplomats," the S-II said as he stepped forward. "Mission parameters for Spectres show things that I wouldn't be a good choice for. An ONI agent would be a better selection. Cortana has compiled a list of candidates I would give you."

At that, the Councilors' Omni-Tools lit up. They brought the devices closer to their faces and looked at the bios of the candidates. John heard a beep from his Omni-Tool and brought it to his face. The images of several UNSC soldiers appeared on the screen. John tapped the only one he knew, the image of ONI GHOST Helix. Her bio appeared on his Omni-Tool, along with pros and cons of adding her to the Spectres. The con list had only one, the possibility of security leaks from her team. John backed out of hers and went to a different one. This one was of a SPARTAN III that he recognized. He looked over at Jane to see her eye twitching.

"You know she'd be best for this shit," John said with a smirk. "Plus, I like her. She reminds me of myself…somewhat."

"I am not choosing her," Jane said.

"And why not, she has never lost an Op; does my form of diplomacy, don't argue, you know it works; and doesn't have any attachments that could get in the way."

"She's known to abandon her teams."

"Spectres tend to work alone either way, we're the exception."

"…Fine…I know I'm gonna regret this," Jane said as she selected the S-III and sent it to the Councilors.

John smiled before doing the same. The Councilors looked at the given candidate and nodded to each other. They then looked back at John and Jane to confirm it.

"The selected candidate for the Spectres is Luna 'AWOL' Cole. S-III that tends to abandon her team," the Asari councilor said.

"Gets the job done, you can't argue against that," the UNSC Human said as the Alliance Human Councilor, Udina, nodded in agreement.

"This is a very small list of people she trusts are you sure?" the Quarion Coucilor asked.

"She has a personal AI. This increases her effectiveness in combat and will allow the AI to help her with diplomacy," the Geth Councilor said.

"SPARTAN IIIs are known for taking missions that even S-IIs saw as suicide ops," The Turian Councilor said.

"Yes, Luna Cole is the best selection for Spectres from this list," the Salarain Councilor said.

"Agreed," Jane said through gritted teeth.

John smirked at her before nodding. Her activated his Omni-Tool and activated the tracker he put on Luna. Jane walked over and raised an eyebrow at that.

"What? I don't wanna miss out on the next joy ride she does," John said, resulting in Jane slapping the back of his head.

"Please bring Lieutenant Cole to the Council chambers," the Quarion Councilor said.

"Hey Luna, yeah its Angel," the youngest of the Shepard sibling said, making the other two look over to see her on her Omni-Tool, "no it's not about another joyride…you're in the Spectres…no it's not a joke…yeah that was how she reacted…she think's she'll regret it…well you need to get here now to actually join…you get to break laws and not get in trouble."

To say that John was surprised to see the S-III nearly instantaneously run into the room was an understatement. He almost had a heart attack from her appearing out of nowhere, using a Cheshire cat style at that.

"We need to talk to Kasumi about who she upgrades the Active Camo for," John said as he clutched his chest.

He looked behind him to see Luna standing there, a smile plastered on her face and her new cat ears twitching in excitement.

"So where do I join at?" she asked.

"You only wanna join so people will stop nagging at you when you break a law," Angel said with a laugh.

"Why Angel Shepard, I would nev…ok yeah that's really it," the S-III admitted.

John looked over to see the Commander holding his head in his hand and shaking it. Apparently Luna wasn't liked by most of the SPARTAN community, be it IIs, IIIs, or IVs.

"Lieutenant Cole, step forward," the Turian Councilor said.

Luna complied, her new tail still swinging back and forth. John looked over at Jane to see her grating her teeth.

"Spectres are not trained, they are chosen," the Salarian Councilor said.

"They are forged in the field," the Asari Councilor continued.

"They are the best that every species has to offer," Udina said.

"They uphold everything that the Council stands for," the UNSC Councilor said.

"Welcome to the Spectres, Agent Cole."

Luna nodded before turning around to leave. John walked up to her and grabbed her shoulder.

"First Op, you help us take down the Reapers and Cerberus. You'll make a team of your own and focus on Cerberus, and any other groups that may help the Reapers," John said as Jane smiled.

"Understood, but I'm doing it my way," Luna replied.

"Good, that's what you're supposed to do," John told her as they left.

"Agent Shepard," the Turian Councilor called after them.

John and Jane turned back to look at them.

"The Turian Primarch went missing on one of Palaven's moons. We need someone to go and find him, and I'd prefer if it were you two."

"Understood Councilor," the twins said as they and the others went back to the Normandy.

**Me: Well that's done.**

**Trin: Next up, recruiting Garrus.**

**Jane: Another old friend, I'll be fine with that.**

**Trin: Quick question, when will THORs show up?**

**Me: Ops of high importance. So expect to see a few on Palaven's moon, and in my eventual Spec Ops missions.**

March 9th, 2566: Spartan III Luna 'AWOL' Cole is inducted into the New Council's Special Tactics and Recon division (Spectres). First Op was given to her by Spectre veterans John and Jane Shepard. Lieutenant AWOL was given an ONI Prowler to complete mission.


	4. Moon Landing (1)

**Me: I've been getting told that the battles are too one-sided. Sorry about that, I'll try to make them better for the rest of this story and the Spec Ops side story. Also, aDarkone, concerning your complaints about the Nova galaxy, I've explained this to you specifically multiple times; this is the last time I'll explain it. The UNSC (and also Sangheili Empire) only control the Terra Galaxy (Halo universe). The Nova Galaxy (ME universe) is controlled by the ME races with the UNSC being the newcomers.**

**Trin: And now we recruit my favorite Turian. And are the Sangheili going to be reintroduced at all? You seem to have abandoned them.**

**Me: They will be reappearing in this chapter. On-…**

**Random Reaper soldier: On with-…+Black Widow being fired+**

**Me: Thank you Angel. On with the story!**

"Talking."

"_Thinking."_

"[Electronic communication.]"

{AI intercommunication}

**Moon Landing (part 1)**

[**Nova Galaxy, Turian home system, Menae:**]-Jane

Jane watched as the SR2 came out of slipspace, the Precursor upgrades keeping the ship not only running silent, but also cloaked. The Normandy SR3 was just outside the edge of the system. The Dreadnaught class ship was too large to go in undetected, even if it was cloaked. The SR3 would need to reveal its location to drop them off. Once that happens, every Reaper in the area would swarm them.

Jane turned to look out the window of the cockpit o see the battle raging above Palaven. She could make out a few UNSC ships alongside the Turian ones. The Reapers seemed to notice them also as they focused their attention on them. Streaks of white light appeared from the front of the UNSC vessels whenever they fired a MAC, usually taking down two or three Reapers, sometimes just disabling them long enough for the Turians to finish them off.

"Damn, we just lost the Van Hellsing," Joker said.

Jane looked over to see a UNSC ship literally being torn apart by several Reapers. Once it was damaged enough to no longer function, the Reapers flew towards another, firing several shots into the Van Hellsing as they left. Those shots caused a chain reaction in the slipspace engines, making the Frigate class vessel explode.

"Monster slayer slayed by monsters, who'd a thought that could happen," Joker said, trying in vain to make light of the situation.

"Not the time," Jane replied.

"Yes ma'am."

Jane walked back towards the elevator to head down to the hanger. She reached the bottom to find the team she picked to go with her waiting. The team was made of Commander Andrews; Angel, who was still stuck aboard the Normandy; John; Liara; a Lieutenant James Vega; and Cortana, this being her trial run in combat. Said AI was wearing dark blue and black ODST gear without the helmet. Instead she had a Kuwashii Visor colored a dark blue, matching her armor. Jane shrugged before having them go into the Kodiak. Jane quickly put her armor on jumped into the Kodiak. Once she was in, it sealed up and launched.

Jane smiled at her new armor set. Though it was still the same colors with ice blue lights, it was now Hahne-Kedar chest plate and arms, Armax Arsenal legs and shoulders, and a Delumcore Overlay visor. She looked over at John to see him wearing a Rosenkov Materials arms and shoulders, Serrice Council legs and chest plate, and a Mnemonic Visor, all of it still the same color as his old armor with red lights. Angel had actually changed her armor and now had a Recon Hood, Kassa Fabrication legs, N7 Standard shoulders, Ariake Technologies arms, and Rosenkov Materials chest plate. All of it was grey primary with purple secondary that matched the design of John's and Jane's armors.

"Wow, you guys do the color thing without even noticing don't you," Cortana said with a smirk.

"Stop talking," John warned.

"I could make a few Power Ranger jokes from this."

"Shut up," Jane said.

"I mean come on you-…" Cortana stopped when Angel put her Black Widow to the AI's head. "I can hack your gun."

Angel then pulled out her katana and pointed the tip at the AI's head, Widow still right against the AI's forehead. Angel smiled under her Recon Hood.

"Can you hack this?"

"…I can break it."

"Titanium-A with hardlight and plasma upgrades."

"…Never mind."

"Cortana, try not to insult our CO and XO," Andrews said as he checked his ammo count.

"Fine…I won't do anything like that again."

"Good," Angel said as her blade folded up, leaving only the handle.

"Sense when can that thing fold up?" Jane asked in confusion.

"I upgraded that bit after Mars. It was too slow on being drawn before, now it folds out with in a millisecond after being activated," Angel replied with a smile.

She connected that to the bottom of her rifle's stock as the Kodiak shook from outer gravity change. The team went towards the doors and prepared to jump out. Once they were close to the ground, Cortez spoke up.

"[Drop Zone is to hot Captain, we have to thin them out.]"

"We're on it Steve, you just get us in close," Angel replied as she opened the doors.

She looked outside to see several UNSC Marines fighting alongside the Turians. She lifted up her rifle and shot a Husk that was trying to jump onto the back of a Marine. The soldier looked over and did a quick salute before firing towards the other Husks. Jane ran over and pulled out her Revenant and joined Angel in firing at the Husks blocking the DZ. The few Husks that were there quickly fell as the Shepard sisters combined fire form the Kodiak. Cortez then brought the shuttle close to the ground and opened up the half door/cover part. The team jumped out as Cortez had the shuttle take off again.

"Well, that was fun," Angel said as she switched out her Black Widow for her Matlock.

"Let's move!" Jane shouted as they ran towards the main complex.

She vaulted over some rocks and ran forward again as John blinked into a leaping Husk. The biotic explosion sent it flying over the cliff's edge. Jane activated her Omni-Blade as another Husk tried to jump onto her. She grabbed its neck and stabbed it twice before tossing it away. She turned a corner to see the bodies of dead UNSC and Turian soldiers.

"_Some much for their supposed invulnerability,"_ Jane thought to herself as the gate to the base opened for them.

She and the team ran inside as the gates closed behind them. Jane looked around to see multiple deceased soldiers in body bags. Turians in red ones, UNSC in black ones; both had their military's emblem on them. Jane ran towards the center of the compound to see the Turian General talking to a UNSC Marine. The Marine nodded to the General before running towards another gate and leaving. Jane walked up to the General and waited. The General noticed her after a few more seconds.

"Captain Shepard, I was told to be expecting you. I'd help you if I could, but as you can see I've been a little busy. Doesn't help that all our remaining THORs were redeployed to Palaven and we have actual Reapers on the ground here," the General said to her.

"We're here for the Primarch," John said after walking up behind Jane.

The General stopped for a second before continuing.

"The Primarch's dead. Shot down while trying to leave for help."

"Damnit," John said.

"I'm sorry. I heard he was a great leader," Jane said after elbowing her twin.

"And a friend. There is still one option though."

"Well let's hear it," John said as Jane elbowed him again.

"The Hierarchy has easily distinguished lines of succession, but with so many dead, it'll be a bit hard to figure that out."

"Who would know?" Jane asked.

"Palaven High Command would, but our long range communications are down. You'll have to fix the com tower to get to them."

"Where is it?" John asked as the Commander and Angel walked over.

"Just outside the east barricade, you can't miss it."

"Understood, let's move!" Jane shouted to the team.

They nodded and went towards the east barricade. John and Angel helped each other jump over the wall as the others waited for it to fold down for them. They ran out of the barricade as it sealed behind them. Jane sprinted to catch up to John and Angel, finding them shooting at several Husks with two UNSC Marines, one of them without a leg.

"Thanks for the assist sirs, we'll keep them from coming up behind you, or charging the barricade.

"Good luck troopers," Jane said as the team found the com relay.

Jane walked over to its console and pressed a few buttons, only to find that it did nothing. She cursed once before slamming her fist into it.

"Can't fix it from here, someone will have to go up."

"Two actually," Angel said as she and Cortana walked up.

"I'll fix it while Angel provides sniper fire from the higher position," the AI said.

"…That's actually a good idea, do it," John ordered as the two of them climbed up the ladder.

"Hold the Husks off while they fix the coms," Jane ordered as her radio sounded.

"[Sorry Captain, unable to provide support, had to fall back, they're heading your way,]" the Marine form earlier said.

"Understood. Get ready people."

As soon as she said that, several Husks appeared and began running at them. One tried to leap onto Jane only for it to be shot through the head by a well-placed sniper round. Jane looked over and sent a two finger salute to her sister before activating her Omni-Blade and cutting another Husk in half. Several more appeared in a cluster and were destroyed by an enhanced shot from Vega. Jane looked over to see the barrel of his gun smoking, but still usable.

"Carnage shot?"

"Got it in one Lola," the Marine replied.

"Lola?" Jane asked as she stabbed another Husk.

"It's a thing I do, give people nicknames. Your brother's Loco-…"

"Only slightly," John said as he blinked into a small group of Husks.

"…-and your sister's Zen."

"I like it," Angel called from her position as she shot another Husk.

Jane smiled and shook her head before going back to killing Husks. Another group appeared and Jane threw a grenade into it. The grenade went off and sent flaming, cybernetic corpses flying in multiple directions. Jane smiled at that as Commander Andrews ripped the last Husk in half. Andrews threw the pieces away and pulled out his AR. Jane looked around to see Angel getting up from her position.

"[Almost…got it,]" Cortana suddenly said. "[Com relay is back up, we're heading down.]"

With that, both Cortana and Angel climbed down the ladder. Jane activated her own short range com and called the General.

"[General, com relay is back up,]" she said to him.

"[Understood, defend the area while we figure out who the next Primarch is.]"

"On it," Jane replied as she reloaded her rifle.

"Weapons free," Vega shouted as he fired his shotgun at the landing Reaper forces.

Jane raised her rifle as a small group of Turian soldiers ran towards them. The group looked injured, and there were only three of them. One of them was using a Phaeston AR, another was using an M-7 Lancer, and the last was holding a Krysae Sniper Rifle. Jane noticed that each had a second weapon on their back. She tried to run over to the only for Andrews to stop her. She was about to say something when she noticed the Husks heading towards the group.

"We can help them more by sniping the approaching enemy forces," Andrews said as he raised his rifle.

Jane nodded and began firing at the Husks behind them. The Turians made it to the barricade before Jane had to reload. She looked back up to see the barricade closing behind them.

"[Thanks, I don't think we would've survived if you hadn't done that. We're out of the fight still; you can use our weapons when you get here.]"

"Thanks," Jane replied before firing at the other Husks.

"[Captain, I know who the new Primarch is, but you'll want to find out in person,]" the General said over the coms.

"On our way," John replied before running towards the Barricade.

Jane and the others were keeping up with him until he blinked to it. It opened for him as the others caught up. Jane walked past him, slapping the back of his head as she did, and walked towards the three troopers she saw earlier. They handed her their main weapons, Jane keeping the Lancer for herself, before pulling out the other weapons. The first one's secondary was an N7 Hurricane, the second's was an N7 Piranha, and the third's was an N7 Eagle. Jane raised an eyebrow at the fact that all of their secondary weapons were those issued to the Alliance's Special Forces group. The Turians shrugged in response.

Jane walked over to where John was to see Garrus standing there.

"Garrus? That you buddy?" Jane asked.

"In the flesh, good to see you two. Also, who're they?" Garrus asked, pointing to Andrews, Cortana, and Vega.

"Commander John Andrews S-117, Lieutenant James Vega, and UNSC AI Cortana."

"…I remember how it used to be AIs were always shooting at us."

"Anyways, we know where we're going and who we're here for, let's go before anything else happens," John said.

Right as he said that, a Reaper Harvester flew over the base and dropped something off at the air field. Jane, Cortana, Vega, Garrus, and Liara glared at him.

"You just had to jinx it, didn't you bro?" Angel asked as she reloaded her Black Widow.

"I see your luck hasn't changed," Garrus said as Jane handed him the Phaeston and Krysae Sniper Rifle.

She then handed the Piranha to James, the Eagle to John, and the Hurricane to Cortana. Jane lifted up the Lancer and smiled before walking over to a work bench and attaching a scope and extended barrel. She ran back to see the others already at the air field's barricade. She readied her rifle as the barricade opened and let them out. Jane and John ran out first, both having their new weapons out and ready. They saw multiple Husks scrambling around the area, and then another thing, one that looked like a Turian Husk.

"What the hell is that?" Angel asked as she shot it.

"Whatever it is, it dies like the rest," Vega said as he shot another with his new shotgun. "Man I love this thing."

"Get them off this air field!" Jane shouted as she began firing her Lancer.

**Me: I know, this is really short compared to how I said it would be, but I put myself onto a deadline for this chapter, something I am never doing again, so the rest of it will be uploaded later.**

**Trin: So, you gonna do it or not?**

**Me: …I'll let the readers decide. Poll now up. Go to my profile to see what it is. Just note that is has nothing to do with this story…technically. VR Commando ATA out.**


	5. Moon Landing (2)

**Me: Here's the rest of that chapter.**

**Trin: No more deadlines.**

**Me: Agreed.**

**Megan (from my RWBY story): Hi guys.**

**Me: Wait…why are you here?**

**Megan: Not sure really, but +looks over at the plate of cookies next to Trin+ can I have some of those?**

**Trin: You'd take them all, not some.**

**Helix: +Walks through door and sees Megan+ Should I come back later?**

**Me: Can I get back to my story please?**

**Trin: No.**

**Megan and Helix: Yes.**

"Talking."

"_Thinking."_

"[Electronic communication.]"

{AI intercommunication}

**Moon Landing (part 2)**

[**Nova Galaxy, Turian home system, Menae:**]-Jane

Jane ran forward and Blinked into the Turian Husk. The biotic explosion disabled its shields as she fired her Lancer into it. The Husk took several shots to it before falling dead. She then turned to the others and ran for cover. She saw Angel and Garrus staying back near the barricade and sniping the Reaper forces. She also noticed Vega, John and Commander Andrews going close range against several Reaper forces. She turned forward again and saw that Liara and Cortana were with her. She readied her rifle again as another group of Husks charged forward. Jane fired her Lancer into the oncoming group of cybernetic zombies as Cortana fired a UNSC Silenced SMG at the Husks. Liara threw out a few warps and enhanced hers and Cortana's ammo. Jane stopped firing as the last of the Husks charged at her. She readied her Omni-Blade and shoved it into the Reaper soldier once it got close.

"I think we got them all," Garrus shouted as Jane relaxed slightly.

"Confirmed, no Husks nearby," Andrews said as he kept his weapon at his shoulder.

"Still thousands all over the moon, but this airfield's clear," Cortana said in agreement.

"Ok people, let's"

"[Captain Shepard,]" General Corinthus said over the coms.

"What is it?" Jane asked.

"[The main gate is under heavy attack, think you could help them out?]"

"On our way."

"Captain," Andrews said suddenly.

"What is it Commander?"

"I suggest we break off into teams; one to stay here and defend our evac zone, and the other to go with you to find the Primarch."

"…Alright Commander, we'll go with that idea," Jane then turned to face the troops under her command, quickly thinking about who would stay and who would go. "Liara, Vega, Angel, and John, stay here and defend this area, the rest of you are coming with me."

"You got it Captain," Garrus said as he reloaded his rifle.

"We'll make sure nothing breaks though sis," John and Angel said at once, causing them to look at each other confused.

"Good luck, you two. Let's go help out the main gate."

With that, Jane's group ran towards the front gate of the small outpost. Jane blinked to the top of the main barricade and manned the turret as Husks started landing. Jane fired at the large groups of Reaper soldiers as the other caught up to her. Jane looked over to see Garrus switch to the Krysae Sniper she gave him earlier. He fired it at several Husks as Jane turned her attention back to the enemies.

"Here comes another wave," Garrus said as several more Husks, this time with a few Turian Husks, which Jane was now calling Marauders, accompanying them.

"Don't let them get past," Jane shouted as she reloaded the turret and fired again.

"Sending out a drone," Cortana shouted suddenly as a small prowler shaped hologram appeared in with the Husks.

Jane watched closely as the vehicle shaped drone fired Hardlight rounds at the Husks and Marauders. She also noticed that it wasn't always the same type of round. Some spread out like a shotgun blast, disintegrating the enemies they hit; others left behind a trail as all the UNSC's snipers did, also disintegrating what they hit; some worked like explosive, doing the same thing as the shotgun and sniper rounds except the explosive rounds separated into four smaller explosives after the main explosion; the last rounds were small rapidly fired shots that didn't cause disintegration, but still devastated the Husks.

Jane looked over at the AI and raised an eyebrow, unseen behind the visor she was using. Cortana shrugged at her and began firing her SMG at the last group of Husks. Only then did Jane notice that Andrews was on the ground in the middle of the Husks, firing his shotgun and AR at the Reaper forces. The S-II took down the last Husk as another thing landed. Jane looked at it to see what looked like a Turian's head attached to a giant body of unrecognizable machinery and organics.

"What the…what is that?" Garrus asked as the thing charged towards the barricade.

The Commander was barely able to jump out of the way as the monstrosity rammed into the door, causing the three remaining members of the team to stumble and fall. Jane managed to grab the turret as she fell, but wasn't able to pull herself up as the thing rammed the barricade again, causing her to lose her grip and fall with the others. She got back up and the new Reaper soldier pounded its chest like an ape.

"Oh shit," Jane said as she rolled out of the way of its charge.

"Well this is just terrific," Cortana commented as she fired her SMG into the behemoth.

Jane threw several warps before jumping out of the way as the abomination charged. It turned toward the group again and beat its chest like an ape. Cortana's drone was destroyed as the Reaper Behemoth smashed it with its claw. It then turned to the AI and tried to grab her. Cortana jumped out of the way and made another drone. She then lifted her SMG again and fired several rounds at the Behemoth.

"This isn't going well," Garrus commented.

"No shit," Jane shot back.

Jane got back up as a glowing blue orb sailed over her head and landed on the Behemoth's face. The orb stuck there, glowing brighter for a second before exploding. Jane stood there, stunned at what just happened as what remain of the Behemoth toppled forward. She turned around to see Cortana smiling at her.

"I say that was a great throw, what about you?"

"Great work…now let's get moving," Jane said before turning to Garrus. "Garrus, take us to the last place you saw Victus."

"On it Comm…Captain," Garrus said as he lead them towards another area.

Jane climbed a small ridge as the team moved forward. Jane looked to Cortana and ordered her to act as the scout. The AI nodded before becoming invisible and moving ahead of the others. Jane looked around and saw several discarded heat exchanges. She picked them up and looked around. All of the ones she had just found were still usable.

"_Usable clips, yet they were just tossed aside as if they couldn't be used…something's not right."_ Jane looked around to see the hand of a Turian soldier on top of the small cliff behind the clips. _"That explains it."_

"Captain, we need to keep moving," Andrews said from behind him.

"[The S-II's right, we need to move,]" Cortana said over the coms as Garrus nodded in agreement.

Jane got up, pocketing the clips as she did, and followed Garrus to where Victus was. The got to another cliff face as Husks began climbing up. Jane blinked into the middle of them and detonated a biotic blast. The blast knocked the Husks off the cliff as Jane turned and waited for the others, Cortana having fallen back and become visible again. Cortana's eyes suddenly narrowed as she pulled out her Silenced Magnum and fired toward Jane.

The bullets flew past her head, narrowly missing it as she heard them impact something behind her. Jane turned her head to see another Husk had climbed up after the others.

"_Sloppy, I should've been paying more attention,"_ she thought to herself as she nodded her thanks to Cortana.

"We all have off days," the AI told her before holstering the semi auto weapon.

"Let's get going," Andrews said as the group moved forward.

Jane raised her Lancer and looked around through its attached scope. She saw nothing ahead of them and kept going forward.

"Shepard!" Garrus shouted as a Turian fighter hit the ground in front of Jane.

She jumped back just in time to avoid getting killed by the explosion.

"That was way to close," Jane said as they got moving again.

A few more feet and they saw Palaven more clearly. Jane looked up to see giant scars of orange everywhere on the planet. She turned to look at Garrus as he noticed the scars also.

"Damn, look at Palaven. You see that blaze of orange…the big one, in the middle. That's where I was born."

Jane looked over at Andrews, she couldn't see his expression because of his helmet, but she did notice that his fist was clenching. She looked over at Cortana to see the AI looking depressed about it.

"At least the Turians are still fighting," Jane said before turning back towards the way they were heading.

"But how long until the fights kicked out of them?"

Jane jumped over a small gap in the ground as the others did the same. Jane could hear explosions from a bit ahead of them.

"We're almost there, should be around the next bend," Garrus said as he readied his rifle.

"Then let's move, no Reaper's taking this Primarch," Jane shouted as they ran forward.

She turned to see a destroyed gate of a command post. She ran past it, firing her weapon at several Cannibals as she did. Jane jumped over a small bit of rocks and continued to run forward, only stopping when she saw another Behemoth.

"Oh, shit," she said as it charged her.

She tried to jump out of the way, but wasn't fast enough. She activated a biotic barrier just before hitting multiple crates. She got up, clutching at several bruised area before noticing something on the ground near her. She picked it up to see that it was a Reaper tech gun.

"_Guess I'm fighting fire with fire,"_ she thought to herself as she aimed the heavy weapon at the Behemoth.

Jane held down the trigger as a purple light appeared at the end of the barrel. The Behemoth noticed the rest of her team, which were finishing off the Reaper forces she had skipped, and pounded its chest. Jane released the trigger and a pitch black orb of energy went flying towards the Behemoth.

The abomination turned to her just as the orb impacted it. It detonated and created what Jane could best describe as a small scale black hole. The Behemoth was destroyed nearly instantly. The black hole then collapsed, creating a large explosion. Jane tossed the gun aside and got up to face the other reaper forces, stopping when she saw a second Behemoth attacking the remaining Turians.

Andrews suddenly ran past her, toppling over every Husk that tried to jump on him, and rammed into the side of the Behemoth before firing his AR's entire mag into it. When that was empty, he switched to his shotgun, firing every shell it had into the creature. It moaned once, and tried to swipe at Andrews. The Reaper tank then toppled over dead, the combined fire from the Turians and the Commander killing it.

"That's the last of them," someone said as Jane moved forward.

"Victus?" Jane asked as a single Turian walked towards them.

"Commander Shepard, I wasn't expecting you to be here, thanks for the help," he said to Jane before looking at Garrus. "Vakarian where'd you go?"

"Heavy Reaper unit on the right flank. I believe your exact words were, 'get that thing the hell off my men,'" Garrus replied.

"Appreciate it."

"You're needed off world to help direct forces," Jane told him.

"It'll take a hell of a lot more than that to make me abandon my Turian brothers and sisters."

"Fidorian's dead, you're the new Primarch," Garrus explained.

Victus' eyes went wide as he walked over to look at Palaven.

"I'm Primarch of Palaven?" he said, seemingly trying to convince himself. "Shepard I'm no politician. I'll be no good for this."

"Which is why you'll be perfect. We don't need another politician right now, we need soldiers and Generals," Jane replied.

"…Alright Shepard, I'll go and help," Victus said, "just…give me a minute."

Jane nodded as Victus walked over to his troops. She then walked over to a cliff and looked out to see several tank shots hit a Reaper. Garrus then walked over to her.

"Without him here, there's a good chance we'll lose this moon," Garrus said to her.

"Without him coordinating attacks up there we could lose everything," Jane replied as they started walking off.

**Me: Well that's done.**

**Trin: No more deadlines…ever.**

**Me: Agreed.**

**Helix: Anything to add?**

**Me: Just the codex entry.**

March 12, 2566: The Turian's new Primarch, former General Victus, was recovered from Menea by Spectre Operatives John, Angel, and Jane Shepard. Victus is now helping coordinate Turian assaults on Reaper forces.


End file.
